Jazz at Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are close to getting three injured starters back, but their return for Saturday’s game against the visiting Utah Jazz remains a stretch. The Jazz, meanwhile, lost starting center Enes Kanter to an ankle injury in Friday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He has been ruled out for Minnesota and Patrick Christopher, starting at shooting guard in place of Rodney Hood, who had been starting in place of Alec Burks, suffered a dislocated right kneecap in the same game.
Kevin Martin (broken right hand) appears closest to returning out of the injured Minnesota starters, but point guard Ricky Rubio (sprained left ankle) and center Nikola Pekovic (sprained right wrist) shouldn't be far behind. All three were out of the lineup when these teams met Tuesday in Utah and the Jazz rallied from eight points down with 4:22 left to win by six. Minnesota guard Shabazz Muhammad reportedly irked members of the Jazz with the way he chose to celebrate a 3-pointer that gave the Timberwolves the late eight-point lead, and that helped fuel the comeback.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Utah), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (11-22): Dante Exum, the fifth overall pick in the most recent NBA Draft, should see his minutes explode with the injuries at shooting guard. The 6-6 Aussie already came through with a season-high 13 points in the loss to the Hawks As far as the center position, look for 7-1 Rudy Gobert to move into the starting lineup and give Utah another legitimate double-double threat.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (5-26): Getting off to a fast start will be key for Minnesota, which can’t afford to fall behind like it did Thursday against the visiting Sacramento Kings, who shot 14-for-18 from the floor in the first quarter to set the tone for remainder of the game. On the plus side, rookie Andrew Wiggins and second-year players Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng are playing well in their expanded roles. Muhammad averaged 18.1 points in December, nearly double what he averaged in November, and Wiggins bounced back from a three-game lull last month to average 21.4 points in the last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Minnesota G Mo Williams was originally drafted 47th overall by the Jazz in 2003.
2. The Timberwolves are 4-1 this season when allowing fewer than 100 points.
3. Hayward is on pace to become the fourth member of the Jazz to average at least 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for a season.